Monday, August 21, 2017

Dancer Larissa Martine is ready to start over and Las Vegas seems like
the perfect city for a shiny new beginning. But first, to honor her pact
with her girlfriends, she wants to make a quick stop in Cheyenne, WY to
make amends with her first love, the guy she left to chase her dreams
of Broadway fame. Except rancher Matt Briggs isn’t nearly as interested
in her regrets as he is in keeping her in town for his sister's wedding.
It’s a request she can’t deny when his family takes up the cause to
make her stay for just one more week, but it’s difficult to maintain her
friends-only boundaries with a man who attracts her as much as ever.

After
losing his father and inheriting the family ranch in addition to the
one he’d bought on his own, Matt’s life is all about obligations. But
Larissa’s unexpected arrival during the wedding mayhem is a bright spot
he won’t ignore, even if that means tempting her into far more than just
a dance. He figures one night with her will bring them both some peace
with their past, which is all she said she wanted. But one night leaves
Matt wanting a whole lot more and this time, he’s willing to gamble
everything to make her stay.

My Review:

Eight years ago, Larissa Martine left Wyoming to follow her
dream of becoming a dancer on Broadway.She broke up with her boyfriend, Matt Briggs, by just leaving a
note.Matt never got over the way
Larissa left.

When Larissa’s dreams came to a crashing halt after an
injury left her sidelined, she decided to try Las Vegas.But before she could go to Las Vegas, she
needed to fulfill a promise she made with her friends.She needed to make a detour to Cheyenne and
make amends with Matt for how she left him.

Larissa may only be staying longer than she planned because
Matt’s sister is getting married, but Matt doesn’t plan on letting her get away
so easily this time.Will Matt’s plan
along with the help of his sister and grandmother be enough to change Larissa’s
mind about leaving again?

The chemistry between Larissa and Matt was off the
charts.The story was easy to visualize from
the descriptions and moved along at a good pace.The secondary characters really added to this
story too.This is the second in the
Road to Romance series, but can definitely be read on its own.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Cocky, young Aussie bull
rider Troy Jensen has been busted down to the pro-circuit. He needs
wins and points to get him back into the big league and a shot at being
crowned champ but an injury forces him off the circuit and into the arms
of the woman fate keeps putting in his path.

The first time
local Doc Joss Garrity meets Troy, she’s brandishing a lug wrench. The
second time, he’s dragging her delinquent teen son home. The third time,
he’s in her ER. How he ends up convalescing at her house she’s not
quite sure. But it does make it hard to ignore him and their simmering
attraction.

As Troy gets to know Joss, he starts to see a life
after bull riding for the first time. But can Joss risk her heart on
another man who may not come home one day?

My Review:

Australian extreme bull rider, Troy seems to be everywhere
when it came to Joss.They first met
when Joss had a flat tire on the side of the road and Troy stopped to help
her.Next, Troy caught Joss’s son trying
to steal from his truck and brought him home (not knowing he was Joss’s son at
the time).But the time when Troy got
hurt in the rodeo and ended up in the ER with Joss as his doctor, they finally got
to know each other better.

Troy was from out of town and didn’t have anyone to help him
while he recovered from his injury, so Joss decided he could stay at her
house.That’s when the temptation started.And it just escalated from there.They couldn’t keep their eyes off each other
at first.Then they couldn’t keep their
hands off each other.But Joss fought
her feelings for Troy thinking it wasn’t right because of their age difference
and him always being on the road.Troy
kept trying to convince her to give in to what she was feeling.A couple times I thought their love story wouldn’t
happen.But just when I started to have
my doubts, the author surprised me with renewed hope for them.

I liked how descriptive the scenes and characters’
backgrounds were. The story was fast
paced and kept me glued to the pages.Normally
I don’t really get into romance books with an older woman and younger guy.But I heard some good things about this one
and needed to see for myself how good the story really was.I have to admit, I was impressed.It is a fantastic love story.And the age difference really wasn’t too
drastic.There are also a lot of steamy
scenes in this story.

Monday, August 14, 2017

There
hasn't been a woman who's held Colby Ryan's heart for long, not since
his teenage love went awry twelve years ago. Now, all of a sudden,
Dakota Jennings, his longtime family friend and trusted wrangler on the
Circle R ranch, is catching his eye. For Dakota’s sake, Colby won't ever
give in to the temptation she poses.

Dakota has been secretly
in love with Colby since the age of ten, but his sense of honor and the
Texas code he lives by won’t allow her permanence in his heart. Up until
this point, he’d never hinted at romance between them and yet, falling
out of love with him just plain isn’t working.

Colby has
always protected Dakota, and he isn’t about to stop now. If he gives in
to his desire, she stands to lose far too much. Colby doesn’t deserve
her love, he's already ruined one life, but the binds that tie them are
strong. Can Dakota be the woman to redeem his broken soul?

My Review:

Dakota Jennings has been in love with Colby Ryan since she
was a little girl.Now, Cole is Dakota’s
employer at Circle R Ranch and she tries hard not to let him know how she
really feels about him.When Cole starts
seeing Dakota as more than just a friend and they finally give into their
feelings, a big secret could destroy their fragile new relationship.

If you like small town romances with memorable characters,
this book is for you. It is an
emotionally charged story that moves along at a good pace.My heart went out to Dakota when she learned
about Cole’s secret.Having been in many
relationships with a lot of secrets, it was easy for me to relate to how she
was feeling.The Forever Texan series
books are all linked, but can be read on their own.

This was my favorite quote form the book:

That something she’d seen in his eyes wasn’t a fluke.It was real and powerful and
earth-shattering. And she dared him to
say otherwise.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Radio DJ Dylan Morgan
enjoys small town life in Marietta. Unlike his longtime girlfriend and
globetrotting photojournalist Casey Michaels, he’s never been tempted to
spread his wings. Until an east coast job offer at a major radio
station catches his eye. He considers taking the position, but then
Casey calls… She’s coming home.

After years of wandering the
globe, Casey Michaels is tired and needs a break and while she didn’t
plan on coming home for good, the idea is starting to grow on her. All
she wants to do is spend time with her forever boyfriend, Dylan. But all
she meets is suspicion as everyone waits for her to pack up her
suitcase once again. To convince Dylan she’s home for good, she plans a
grand gesture–a photography show celebrating Marietta life. And then,
the phone rings. She’s needed in London.

My Review:

Photo journalist, Casey Michaels, was always on the move
from one country to the next while her boyfriend Dylan Morgan waited for her to
return to Marietta.But he was starting
to lose hope for a future between them.He doesn’t think Casey is serious about settling down.

Casey is burned out after her last assignment.She is home for a break and needs Dylan to
help her move past the heartbreak that she has endured while in Nepal.Dylan has always been there for Casey, but
this time might be the last.He has an opportunity
for a big job in New York City and is seriously thinking about taking it.But he gives Casey one last chance.When Casey leaves again, it’s the last
straw.Will Dylan be able to convince
Casey that he needs her to be with him and not always traveling?

I enjoyed this story.It’s an eye opener about putting aside something that might seem
important to you and focusing on what is important for the one you love.Sometimes you have to meet in the
middle.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

The Descendants meets Single White Female
in this captivating novel about a woman who moves her family to Hawaii,
only to find herself wrapped up in a dangerous friendship, from the
celebrated author of We Could Be Beautiful.

When Nancy and
her family arrive in Kona, Hawaii, they are desperate for a fresh
start. Nancy's husband has cheated on her; they sleep in separate
bedrooms and their twin sons have been acting out, setting off illegal
fireworks. But Hawaii is paradise: they plant an orange tree in the
yard; they share a bed once again and Nancy resolves to make a happy
life for herself. She starts taking a yoga class and there she meets
Ana, the charismatic teacher. Ana has short, black hair, a warm smile,
and a hard-won wisdom that resonates deeply within Nancy. They are soon
spending all their time together, sharing dinners, relaxing in Ana's hot
tub, driving around Kona in the cute little car Ana helps Nancy buy. As
Nancy grows closer and closer to Ana skipping family dinners and
leaving the twins to their own devices she feels a happiness and
understanding unlike anything she's ever experienced, and she knows that
she will do anything Ana asks of her.

A mesmerizing story of friendship and manipulation set against the idyllic tropical world of the Big Island, The Goddesses is a stunning psychological novel by one of our most exciting young writers.

My Review:

I was first drawn to this book because of the Hawaii
setting.But, I was also intrigued by
the new friendship between Nancy and Ana.I also wanted to see how Nancy would deal with her cheating husband and
troubled sons.The story drew me in from
the start.

Nancy is devastated when she finds out about her husband’s
affair, but she forgives him.When her
husband has the chance to relocate from San Diego to Hawaii for his job, Nancy
sees this as a way to transform herself.She will no longer be the typical homemaker.She will be a new woman.Once settled in their new home, Nancy decides
to take up yoga where she meets and becomes good friends with Ana, the yoga
instructor, who has cancer.Their friendship
started out good with them doing charitable things, like helping homeless
people, but when Ana moves in with Nancy, things start taking a different
turn.Ana is not the woman Nancy thought
she was.Ana completely turns Nancy’s
life upside down and in the end of the story, she shows her true colors.Ana is not at all what Nancy thought.

As a housewife, I was able to relate to Nancy’s feelings about
taking care of the home, doing things she was expected to do, and her desire
for a friend to hang out with.The story
was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen
next.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

A novel of five lifelong friends who, in their sixties, decide to
live together on a cocoa farm in Fiji, where they not only start a
chocolate business but strengthen their friendships and rediscover
themselves.

"I've planted my feet on Fijian earth and I
intend to stay here until the last sunset. Why don't you join me? Leave
behind everything that didn't work out!"

When Sina, Maya,
Ingrid, and Lisbeth each receive a letter in the mail posing the same
question, the answer is obvious. Their old high school friend Kat—Kat
the adventurer, Kat who spread her wings and took off as soon as they
graduated—has extended the invitation of a lifetime: Come live with me
on my cocoa farm in Fiji. Come spend the days eating chocolate and
gabbing like teenagers once again, free from men, worries, and cold.
Come grow old in paradise, together, as sisters. Who could say no?

Now in their sixties, the friends have all but resigned themselves
to the cards they've been dealt. There's Sina, a single mom with
financial woes; gentle Maya who feels the world slipping away from her;
Ingrid, the perennial loner; Lisbeth, a woman with a seemingly
picture-perfect life; and then Kat, who is recently widowed. As they
adjust to their new lives together, the friends are watched over by
Ateca, Kat's longtime housekeeper, who oftentimes knows the women better
than they know themselves and recognizes them for what they are: like
"a necklace made of shells: from the same beach but all of them
different." Surrounded by an azure-blue ocean, cocoa trees, and a local
culture that is fascinatingly, joyfully alien, the friends find a new
purpose in starting a business making chocolate: bittersweet, succulent
pieces of happiness.

A story of love, hope, and chocolate,
PIECES OF HAPPINESS will reaffirm your faith in friendship, second
chances, and the importance of indulging one's sweet tooth.

My Review:

An inspiring tale about the importance of friendship.

Kat and her husband Niklas spent their life traveling and
helping less fortunate people.When it
came time for them to retire, they decided to buy a cocoa farm in Fiji.But before they could really do anything with
it, Niklas passed away.At the
suggestion of her housekeeper, Ateca, Kat invites her old school friends to
spend the remainder of their golden years with her.Together they start their own chocolate
company while getting reacquainted with each other.

I enjoyed getting to know each of the women and learning
their secrets, fears and desires.I also
liked learning about the people of Fiji and their culture.The story takes you on an adventure and I
experienced a full range of emotions while reading it.It was easy to visualize the scenes.I also liked that the characters in this
story were older.They were more
relatable to me than the younger characters in a lot of other books that I
read.

One of many favorite quotes in the book was what Ateca said
about the women."The ladies in the
house are like a necklace made of shells: from the same beach, but each of them
a little different. Each one worries for the next one on the string: Madam
Lisbeth worries for Madam Sina, Madam Sina for Madam Maya, Madam Ingrid for
Madam Kat, and Madam Kat for all of them.

I received an advance copy of this book through NetGalley
and Doubleday Books

Set on the glamorous Italian island, Emerald Coast is a touching and humorous story about marriage and the difficulty of finding love and happiness at the same time.

Lily
Bristol arrives at a luxurious resort in Sardinia for the grand opening
of her newest home furnishing store on the Emerald Coast. She’s a
successful business woman with an international chain of stores from San
Francisco to Milan. Thirty-two and newly divorced, she’s ready to
handle things on her own. At least until her private butler, Enzo,
escorts her to a beautiful suite where she notices a suspiciously
familiar pair of men’s slippers and shaving kit.

Lily is
horrified. Her ex-husband Oliver moved out of their restored Connecticut
farmhouse six months ago, but they booked this trip when they were
trying to save their marriage and never cancelled the reservation.
Oliver, a food critic for the New York Times, is here covering
Sardinia’s hottest new restaurant. The only other available room is the
adjoining suite; and worse, Oliver isn’t alone. He’s brought a
twenty-something named Angela with him.

Lily is determined to
make do and enlists Enzo to find her a suitable man. But it’s not as
easy to find new love as they both expected. When Lily and Oliver find
themselves alone on a very important night, they turn to each other.
Sparks begin to fly, but can they be together without breaking each
other’s hearts?

My Review:

Marriage is not always perfect.It is something you have to work on every
day.When it comes to a strong
relationship, there has to be trust and no secrets.Lily and Oliver Bristol found this out the
hard way and it cost them their marriage.In this book we learn what happened to cause their divorce and how they
have moved on.But, is there still
something between them?Are they still
in love or is it just the memories that make it seem so?

When Lily goes on a business trip to Sardinia, she had
forgotten the reservation was originally made for her and Oliver.When she finds a man’s shaving kit in her room, she thinks there is a
mix up in the reservations.She quickly
asks for another room.The only room
available is the adjoining room.Lily
gets the surprise of her life when she finds out Oliver is the man who was using
the room.He was also there on a business
trip, but he brought his girlfriend Angela with him.Lily decides it’s time for her to move on and
is introduced to Ricky, a local boutique owner. They hit it off really well
and spend a lot of time together.Lily and Oliver still seem to bump into each other often and their
thoughts are flooded with memories.Will
either be able to really move on and find love again?

With the beautiful setting of Sardinia’s Emerald Coast,
fashion and food, along with an intriguing story, this book is one that I will
definitely want to revisit in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the
advance copy of this book.